Story perspectives
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ends Mandatory Life Without Parole
By Drooid · · How we work
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Story summary
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the automatic life-without-parole rule for second-degree murder.
- John Marshall Payne III, Lori Ann Lassiter, Marsha Scaggs and Cecil Holmes filed petitions voiding mandatory sentences.
- Senate Republicans approved a June bill setting a 35-year minimum for second-degree murder.
- House Democrats passed a July bill allowing parole after 30 years.
- Prosecutor Larry Krasner says retroactivity is needed despite opposition from other district attorneys without a new law.
